Calligraphy-magic - Learn how to do calligraphy PDF

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Learn how to do calligraphy...

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Calligraphy Magic How to Create Lettering, Knotwork, Coloring and More

Cari Buziak

Table of Contents Introduction Glossary of Terms CHAPTER 1 Calligraphy Tools and Supplies CHAPTER 2 How to Make Calligraphy Strokes CHAPTER 3 15 Alphabets From Basic to Fancy CHAPTER 4 Ornamentation, Gilding & Coloring CHAPTER 5 12 Calligraphy Projects Step by Step STATIONERY AND EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS Bookplates Greeting Cards Bookmarks Logos Business Cards and Letterhead Wedding Announcements Invitations Place Cards and Thank-You’s DISPLAY PIECES Monograms Quotations Certifi cates Lettering with Celtic Decoration Illustrated Poems Lettering with Dragon Artwork CHAPTER 6 Creating Your Own Computer Fonts Pre-printed Celtic Knotwork Grid Paper Pre-ruled Calligraphy Practice Pages Index About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments

Introduction Calligraphy is a fun craft to learn, as well as a useful one. Far from being an obsolete skill, more and more people today are picking up the pen and creating their own greeting cards, wedding invitations, fine art projects, and even creating their own computer fonts! In the old days, calligraphy tools were unique and specically crafted to their task. Today, a calligrapher has a wide variety of tools from which to choose, from traditional to completely modern, even digital! Calligraphers can now experiment with their artistic expression, freely mixing creative ideas and elements together to explore new artforms with their projects. In this book we’ll examine the basic techniques of calligraphy, covering calligraphy hands suitable for a wide variety of projects and easy for a beginner or intermediate calligrapher to practice and learn. We’ll also cover easy decorative techniques such as watercolor painting, Celtic knotwork, gold leang and illustration ideas to create a “toolkit” of creative techniques. You’ll learn how to make your own wedding stationery, create a painted greeting card or a birth announcement, design a logo for your own business, and so much more! We’ll cover all the steps from basic layout to design choices to the final completed piece in easy step-by-step examples. Calligraphy is a way of expressing yourself and learning something new in an art eld that has lots of potential for new discoveries— nding new ways to embellish your lettering, learning a new alphabet, or creating memorable keepsakes with a handmade touch for yourself, family and friends.

Glossary of Terms Ascenders & Descenders

A letter has three main parts: the x-height, the ascender, and the descender. The main body of the letter lls the x-height (for example, the lowercase “o”); the ascender rises up above the x-height (the stem of the “d”); and the descender falls below the x-height (the stem on the lowercase “p”).

Font A typeface (alphabet) used on a computer (as opposed to letters used on a printing press, or hand written).

Font Family A font family includes a number of related font faces, such as a bold version, condensed, italic, light, etc.

Cursive A more uid or script style of writing, developed as a faster way to write by monks. Cursive usually has a looser and less formal look. It’s useful for projects that need letters that flow and move in the design without looking too formal or stiff.

Majuscule Capital or uppercase letters in an alphabet. Also great for creating a splash at the beginning of a text with a larger or more detailed letter. Often used for monograms, or a detailed piece in stand-alone uses where there may not be any other text or designs in a project. A highly decorated Majuscule used at the beginning of a word or sentence is called a “Display Capital.”

Minuscule Lowercase letters in an alphabet. Some minuscule letters lend an informal look to a piece of text, and can be used in projects where a lighter or more inviting feel is desired.

Uncial A style of writing characterized by full, rounded letters. Capitals from our modern Latin alphabet are derived from Uncial style letterforms.

Serif A small stroke at the beginning or end of a main stroke. A serif can be made in many ways and often gives a particular alphabet its characteristic look.

Glyph Any graphic within a font. This can be a letter, number, or a symbol such as a dollar sign or punctuation.

Encoding Each glyph is encoded with instructions so that the computer knows to type an “A” when you press the “A” key on your keyboard. At one time Macs and PCs used dierent encoding instructions or standards; however the new Unicode Standard is a universal standard that both Macs and PCs will recognize and understand and what we’ll be using in our discussions here.

Metrics Spacing rules that you want your font letters to follow so that they’re spaced correctly when you type words and paragraphs.

Color Hue/Tint/Shade Hue is pure color. Tint is color plus white. Shade is color plus black.

Complementary Colors Colors opposite each other on the color wheel. Complementaries can create strong and bold color pairings.

Triad Colors Three colors, each one-third away from each other on the color wheel. Triads can also create a very bold color combination.

Split Complementary Colors Instead of using the direct complementary color, you use the two colors to either side of the complementary. This combination is more subtle, and good for more reserved pieces.

Gilding The application of tissue-thin sheets of metal (gold silver copper) to a sticky surface

CHAPTER 1

Calligraphy Tools and Supplies Calligraphy is not an expensive craft to learn. With some basic pen supplies and papers you can immediately begin learning how to create beautiful letters.

Sketching Tools To sketch your designs and plan your layout you’ll need a pencil or two and a good eraser. These actually come in a much wider variety than what we’ve all used in grade school! Having a few choices in pencil leads and a good eraser to use can mean the dierence between ghting your materials while you work, and getting into the groove of your project, so it’s more than worth the small cost to purchase these.

PENCIL HARDNESS Pencils come in dierent hardnesses of lead, from 6B (which draws very soft, smudgy black lines) to 6H (which draws hard, thin, silvery lines). For calligraphy or for sketches that will be colored over, buying a normal HB pencil and a 2B or 2H will suffice.

TYPES OF PENCILS You can buy your pencils as normal pencils that are sharpened with a pencil sharpener, a holder that can accept leads of any hardness, or a mechanical pencil. I prefer to work with mechanical pencils because they don’t have to be sharpened. I buy a few of those brightly colored plastic mechanical pencils in different colors and color-code what pencil holds which hardness of lead.

VINYL ERASERS Vinyl erasers are a standard for sketching. They come in a variety of sizes, however I nd the easiest thing to do is buy a big block and then use a utility knife to cut it down to whatever size I need. I also trim o the corners of the rectangular eraser into small wedges that I use to erase in tiny places—very handy for detail work when drawing embellishments and designs!

KNEADABLE ERASERS

Although a kneadable eraser is sold in a rectangular form, you can knead it into any shape you want! Rather than rubbing it across your work like a normal eraser, press it against your pencil lines, then lift it o. Since it only removes a bit of the drawn lines at a time you have a lot of control with how much you lighten or remove. It’s also great for sensitive papers because it gently removes the pencil lines on delicate papers that could be abraded or ruined by rubbing.

Calligraphy Pens Calligraphy can be written with any wide chisel-shaped tool, whether it’s a pen, a felt, or the reed from a musical instrument! The key is the chisel-shaped edge used to make the letters. By holding the chisel edge at a consistent angle and moving it around your paper, it will create thin and thick lines automatically for you. The three main types of pens used in calligraphy are the traditional dip pen, a cartridge style pen, and a felt tip pen. Try each to see what you’re most comfortable with across a variety of uses. For practicing and planning pieces it’s handy to whip out some text with a felt pen, while expressive works and works needing a wide range of nib widths would work better with a dip style pen. A cartridge style pen is handy for long pieces of text that need consistent letters because you just load it up and start writing! Each is useful in its own way, but if you can only buy one style, I would recommend buying the dip pen holder and some nibs and ink because it’s the most exible to work with overall. Once you become more familiar with calligraphy, experiment with any chisel shaped objects you can find!

FELT TIP PENS The felt tip pen is like an ordinary felt pen, except that the tip has a wide chisel edge, not a point. A great tool for beginners, these pens are inexpensive, do not require reloading or lling with ink, and come in a variety of colors and widths. However, because the tip is made from felt, it can wear down and soften over time and you’ll lose your nice crisp edge for lettering. Also, the ink isn’t archival so it’s not suitable for important projects

CARTRIDGE STYLE PENS The cartridge style pen works like a fountain pen, except that it has a chisel nib for making calligraphic letters. To use these, you insert ink cartridges into the pen and add your preferred nib. Inks come in a variety of colors, and nibs in a variety of widths. These pens are nice for students because you get an automatic flow of ink as you write, and you can write for a very long time without having to change ink cartridges. However, it can be tedious to change colors or nib widths because the ink chamber and nib must be thoroughly cleaned and flushed free of any ink that could dry inside.

Calligraphy Pens

DIP STYLE PENS A dip style pen, the kind you see in old movies that is usually associated with calligraphy, has a handle with a small opening atone end where the calligraphy pen nib is inserted. It’s very simple to change nib widths and colors because the nib is accessible and easy to clean. However it does take a bit of practice to gure out how much ink to load into the nib, and to gauge when you’re going to run out and need to redip. DIP STYLE NIBS Dip style nibs of any brand have common features. They each have a shaft that ts into the pen holder, the main part of the nib head that has the ink reservoir, and the chisel tip. The chisel tip can be purchased in a wide variety of widths, depending on the kind of letters you’ll be making and how big they’ll be. Most nibs have the ink reservoir already attached, however some brands, such as the Mitchell nibs, have a small separate piece that slides on to the nib to create the reservoir.

Nib Care Before using your nibs for the rst time, you’ll need to clean the manufacturer’s grease and varnish from them for the ink to ow properly. You can do this by holding the nib tip in a cup of boiling water for a short time and then wiping it dry, or you can add a few drops of gum arabic to the nib and then wipe it off; no need to rinse. In between colors or after use, your nib should be thoroughly cleaned with an old toothbrush and soapy water, and patted dry. It’s especially important not to let waterproof ink dry on your nibs or they’ll be very diffi cult to clean or use.

Inks A dip style calligraphy pen can be used with a number of liquid mediums, however most commonly you’ll be looking for ink. Ink can be sold by the stick or bottle, and in any color of the rainbow! What ink you choose depends on your project and on what you nd works best for how you like to work.

PIGMENTED INKS VS. DYES Inks can be made from pigments, or dyes. Pigments can make the ink feel a little grainy when you write with it because it’s an ink made up of tiny particles that give the ink its color. It can also settle out both in the jar (always make sure you shake well!) and on the page, which can give interesting effects if you use a textured paper. Dye-based inks are not lightfast, so will fade over time.

PAINTS AS INKS You can also use watercolor, gouache or liquid acrylic with your dip pens (use artist-quality or student-grade to ensure strong colors and ease of workability). Each comes in a wide array of colors and opacities, and needs to be thinned before use with your pen. Use a paintbrush to fill the reservoir of your dip pen nib with paint. When using acrylic, always wash your dip pen nib thoroughly after use, or even during use, as the paint dries quickly and can clog your pen.

WATERPROOF OR WATER SOLUBLE? Whether you choose to work in waterproof or water-soluble ink depends on your project. Water-soluble inks can be good for practice work because you don’t have to be as careful about the ink drying on the pen nib, and it’s easier to clean up and change colors. Waterproof inks are hard to clean o your nib if left to dry, so are best used for nished work where you need the ink to stay in place no matter what.

INK STICKS

Ink sold in stick form must be liquied before use. This is done against a special stone that has a well in the center. The well is lled partway with water, and the ink stick is lightly rubbed against the stone into the water until the fresh ink has the consistency desired.

Cartridge Pen Inks The ink sold for cartridge style pens is water soluble so it doesn’t dry up in the pen and ruin it. Also, because of the  ne mechanism

within a cartridge style pen that allows the ink to ow, the cartridges contain a dye based ink which can fade. Choose black if you need the letters to last for a long time as the bright colors are the worst offenders for fading!

Papers There are numerous options of suitable papers to use for calligraphy, depending on your project, personal preference, and budget. The paper you choose can add character or even color to your piece, and can be a source of inspiration for future projects.

WATERCOLOR PAPER Watercolor paper comes in dierent nishes: very smooth (called smooth, or hot press), a medium texture (cold press), or very textured (rough). If your project involves a lot of ne detail and very small lettering, you may want to choose a smoother paper so you’re not fighting the texture while adding your details. Textured paper, however, can give wonderful irregular edges to larger letters!

CALLIGRAPHY PAPER PADS Paper specically for calligraphy can be purchased in convenient pads. These are wonderful for practicing on because you have a large number of sheets to work with and they come in a number of dierent sized pads depending on how big you like to work. As a rule, try to buy a larger pad for practice: 11 x 14 inches (28 x 36cm) or even 16 x 20 inches (41 x 51cm). You’ll be able to make nice, large, comfortable strokes as you feel your way around the letters.

PASTEL PAPER Pastel paper is a light paper that’s oered in a wide array of colors. It usually has a smoother side and a textured side, so it’s easy to test both and decide which you prefer for your project.

REAL VELLUM

Although a little more costly, real vellum or parchment is a true delight to work with. Made from real calf or deer skin, the translucent nature of the surface makes the letters and colors seem to oat above it. There are still a few sources that sell sheets or even full skins of prepared vellum—try a simple search on the Internet.

HANDMADE PAPERS Before choosing a handmade paper, always be sure to test it with the style of pen and type of ink you plan to use to make sure the paper reacts properly—some work wonderfully, while others are soft enough to make the ink bleed or clog your pen.

Other Supplies Basic tools aside, there are a few additional supplies that can be bought if you’re really enjoying yourself and want to take your calligraphy further. These items can make it a bit easier to work on larger or more involved projects. GRAPHITE TRANSFER PAPER Graphite paper is one of my favorite time savers! It allows you to trace a design and transfer it to a new sheet of paper. Because it’s made with graphite like your pencil, it’s fairly erasable, and each sheet is reusable for quite a long time. To use it:

1. Place your good paper on the bottom, a sheet of graphite paper (graphite side down) on top of that, and your original sketch on the top (see photo below). 2. Tape the sketch and graphite layers to the bottom good paper with low tack tape or drafting tape. 3. Use a blue or red medium ballpoint pen to trace over your sketch lines (the color makes it easier to see where you’ve traced already). 4. Untape your “transfer sandwich” and your sketch should now be ready to ink and paint! When tracing your sketch onto your good paper, trace just a few lines, then very carefully lift a corner to make sure that it’s transferring properly. There’s nothing more frustrating than tracing out an entire design only to discover that you had your graphite paper facing the wrong way and nothing transferred! It’s also a good way to make sure you ‘re pressing hard enough to transfer the design, but not so hard that you ‘re leaving grooves in the paper.

ANGLED BOARD If you’re doing a lot of calligraphy, having an angled board can save your posture! You can purchase a board in plastic, Masonite or wood, or you can easily build your own. Either way, try to get a board that’s adjustable so you can change the angle depending on your project or preference.

Using a Light Box A light box helps with tracing and layout. You can rule a bunch of lines for your lettering and place that sheet underneath your good paper as you work so the lines show through without having to draw them on your good paper. You can also assemble many pieces, almost like a collage, lay your good paper on top and then trace the elements that you want to keep onto your good paper. You can buy light boxes, or make your own from a shallow box with a glass top, inserting a long  uorescent lightbulb or two inside. Any large window can also work as a light box.

Adding Color In addition to the basic supplies, there are a number of fun things that you can use to embellish and add color to your calligraphy projects. We’ll cover how to use these different tools more extensively in upcoming chapters. ADDING COLOR WITH PAINT Not only can watercolors, gouache and liquid acrylics be used as ink, you can use paint to make large colored washes on your background or to add small colored details (you’ll want to use artist’s quality or student grade paints to ensure strong color and ease of use). You’ll also need a small selection of brushes. I recommend good-quality synthetic brushes in size nos. 0, 2 and 6 to start with. I also use a palette for mixing colors.

ADDING COLOR WITH COLORED PENCILS Colored pencils can be used to shade in color, draw colored lines, and add ne hairline details in your work. Choose as high a quality pencil as you can aord; better quality gives you a deeper color range and stronger leads and light-fastness. Colored pencils are available in packs or as singles so you can pick the exact shade you want for a project.

WATERCOLOR PENCILS These are fantastic! If you’re worried that watercolors are too tricky to use, then you might want to try watercolor pencils (also known as “water-soluble colored pencils”). These are used much like standard colored pencils, but after you’ve shaded in an area, take a wet paintbrush and run it over your shading. The water will actually liquify the pencil marks and give it a watercolor appearance. It’s a great way to get a watercolor effect, but with more control.

PIGMENTED PENS I use pigmented pens for all my outlining. As opposed to a regular black ...